Liberty One Investment Management LLC Has $27.05 Million Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 862,308 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,121 shares during the period. Hormel Foods comprises approximately 2.9% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Liberty One Investment Management LLC owned about 0.16% of Hormel Foods worth $27,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.93. 2,515,109 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,918,130. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $31.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.46. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $28.51 and a twelve month high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a boost from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.00.

About Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods Corporation develops, processes, and distributes various meat, nuts, and other food products to retail, foodservice, deli, and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Retail, Foodservice, and International segments. The company provides various perishable products that include fresh meats, frozen items, refrigerated meal solutions, sausages, hams, guacamoles, and bacons; and shelf-stable products comprising canned luncheon meats, nut butters, snack nuts, chili, shelf-stable microwaveable meals, hash, stews, tortillas, salsas, tortilla chips, nutritional food supplements, and others.